The Power of Deep Conviction and Prayer

"Lord made fruitful , our labour, our aspirations in this life", the gist of a good shepherd's opening' prayer for his congregation, the sheep under his care. A beautiful prayer to start off a new week with trust, with confidence, with belief and grace of God in our hearts. Be still and Listen, allow the words to flow in and together as a congregation lift up the prayer to the Heavenly Father...., such conviction and passion....surely a Father will not turn away but shower his blessings upon all his people gathered to worship Him.

We may not be liked for certain comments but sometimes these thoughts needed to be voiced out. I do not know whether people agree with me when I say that sometimes , when a mass is celebrated as a routine ritual ; the passion and the worship is sometimes missing and we go away just fulfilling our weekly obligations, we partake of the Eucharist without experiencing the presence of the Living Christ, in us. John 4:23-24 reminds us " True worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him; God is Spirit and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and Truth." Folks, do you agree with me, that rituals without the deep passion of faith and belief are like words fluttering aimlessly in the air,without a destination and that will vanish- pooh! away without so much of a trace and that will do nothing for us spiritually?. But a worship session, a mass celebration, focusing and believing in the living presence of Christ Jesus in the celebrations itself , will surely turn the bread into the body and blood of Christ Jesus , that those who partake of His Body and Blood shall be blessed and strengthen . . The commandment " Do this in memory of me" shall come alive and the significance of this act shall live on in our hearts, that the world may know us as people of faith...and children of God..

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I am thankful to God, for our veteran Shepherds who still celebrates the Eucharist with deep conviction and ardent worship that it emits great power for God's blessings and healing upon the whole congregation. When we gather together as one body, to worship our God, is it not true that we want his love to embrace us, for Him to remove all our anxieties in life and for Him to take care of our every needs? When a Resident Shepherd of any parish raises his voice to pray for his congregation, with conviction and sincerity, that passion will touch God, and that congregation will be blessed indeed.. Is it not true that when a man of deep faith and much loved by God prays for us, our prayers are often answered? May God bless our Parish and Shepherd and keep alive ,the eternal love and promise of God in our hearts.